La Ferté-sous-Jouarre Site of the memorial, unveiled in 1928, to the 3,888 British soldiers
who were killed in the retreat from the Marne in September 1914
but had no known grave.
Lausanne, Treaty
of Peace treaty signed between the Allies and Turkey in July
1923, replacing the obsolete Treaty of Sèvres, which had
been agreed in August 1920. It granted Turkey large areas of European
territory including Constantinople and Gallipoli.
Lawrence, T E (1888-1935) Also known as 'Lawrence of Arabia'. He joined British
military intelligence in Cairo on the outbreak of the First World
War, from where he established strong ties with the Arab leader,
Sherif Husein of Mecca. As an adviser to Husein's son Feisal, Lawrence
helped to organise the Arab revolt against the Turks (begun in June
1915), which played an important part in the eventual Allied triumph
on the Palestine front. The Seven Pillars of Wisdom, a
highly regarded account of his wartime experiences in the Middle
East, was published privately in 1926. Lawrence was killed in a
motorcycle crash in 1935, since when he has remained one of the
First World War's most charismatic and controversial military leaders.
Le Queux, William (1864-1927) British spy writer. Author of such books as The Invasion
of 1910 (1906) and German Spies in England: An exposure
(1915).
League of Nations International association of states designed to safeguard world
peace, the brainchild of American president Woodrow Wilson. A 'Covenant
of the League of Nations' was incorporated into the terms of all
of the post-war peace treaties in 1919 and 1920. The League met
for the first time in November 1920, but its credibility was seriously
undermined by the non-participation of the USA. It held its last
meeting in April 1946, before being superseded by the United Nations.
Lemburg Town
in eastern Galicia. Scene of a series of battles between Russian
and Austro-Hungarian forces between 23 August and 12 September 1914,
during which the latter were forced to withdraw to the Habsburg
garrison of Przemysl. 
Lenin, Vladimir Ilyich (1870-1924) Leader of the Bolshevik revolution and the first head
of state in Soviet Russia, 1917-24. Lenin was returned from exile
into Russia aboard a German military train in April 1917. Wanting
no part in the Allied war effort, he was the driving force behind
the separate peace treaty concluded by Russia with Germany at Brest-Litovsk
11 months later.
Lettow-Vorbeck, General Paul Emil von (1870-1946)
Appointed military commander of German East Africa in 1914, he was
a master of irregular warfare; his small band of troops kept larger
Allied forces in the region occupied for much of the First World
War.
Lloyd George,
David (1863-1945) Liberal MP, 1890-1945; chancellor of the
Exchequer, 1908-15; appointed minister of munitions in May 1915,
a position he held with distinction; replaced Asquith as prime minister
on 7 December 1916 amid mounting criticism of Britain's conduct
of the war. Lloyd George clashed with 'Westerners' such as Haig
over what he saw as the futile slaughter in Belgium and France,
but successfully pushed for a more vigorous and organised pursuit
of the war. Returned to office in the December 1918 'coupon election',
he was unable to modify the harsh treatment of Germany meted out
at the Paris peace conference in 1919.
Lody, Carl Hans (1877-1914) German naval officer. The first foreign spy to be executed
in Britain - in November 1914 at the Tower of London - for espionage
during the First World War.
London, Treaty of Treaty signed in 1839 by the Great Powers, promising to respect
the independence and neutrality of Belgium.
Loos Town to the
NW of Lens in NE France. Scene of an unsuccessful British attack
on the German line (25 September-8 October 1915), in which 60,000
men were killed, wounded or captured. 
Ludendorff, General
Erich (1863-1945) German general, who served with distinction
in Belgium and under Hindenburg in eastern Prussia in 1914; appointed
joint supreme commander of the German army - again with Hindenburg
- in August 1916; suffered a breakdown after the failure of the
Ludendorff offensive on the Western Front in the spring and early
summer of 1918.
Ludendorff offensive Germany's final bid for victory on the Western Front between March
and July 1918. It was, in fact, a series of small operations that
were characterised by initial German breakthroughs that proved impossible
to follow up.
Lusitania
Flagship British passenger liner owned by the Cunard Line.
Sunk off the southern coast of Ireland by a German submarine torpedo
on 7 May 1915, with the loss of 1,192 lives, including 128 citizens
of the then neutral USA. Both Germany and Britain made great propaganda
play of the incident.
Lützow
The only German battle cruiser sunk by the British naval fleet at
the Battle of Jutland (31 May-1 June 1916).
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